Violation of the Bankruptcy Discharge Injunction may have you seeing Green! Part II
By Carmen Dellutri, Attorney at Law on May 3, 2007 in Bankruptcy Cases & Legislation, Bankruptcy Practice and Procedure, Florida, General Bankruptcy Information, Life After Bankruptcy
The story described In Part I is just one example of a discharge violation. There are many more to be aware of. Of course, AT&T and their collection agency were completely wrong, in my humble opinion. Even though they wrote sizeable checks, they still maintain their innocence. However, many lessons can be learned from this story. Debtors need to be on the lookout for violations of the Bankruptcy Judge’s Discharge Order. Debtor’s Attorneys need to educate their clients about the potential for creditors to break the law. If a creditor breaks the law, the Debtor’s attorney will need to know how to handle the matter effectively.
The Creditors try to make light of their violations, by alleging that it was a mere technical violation or there was no intention to violate the law because of a computer malfunction. In my opinion, these arguments are beginning to fall on deaf ears as the Bankruptcy Judges are now demanding solid proof in the form of affidavits from the corporate clients, rather than letting the Creditor’s attorney just keep telling stories at the podium.
More debtor’s attorneys are starting to pursue these violations on behalf of their clients. When I first started practicing bankruptcy law, I would just write a letter telling the creditor to stop pursing the client. Well I slowly realized this was just an exercise in futility, and that I would be writing letters until my hand fell off. (Yes, I still write letters). We live in a different world where the Creditors are not afraid of being sanctioned anymore because they are making too much money breaking the law.
You must be logged in to post a comment.